This is a parking place for teaching notes, resource materials and record of some of my reading and reflecting. When I read, sometimes I record insights but more often make note of questions and curiosities.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

"When God closes a door, He opens a
window."This
inspiring quote is a variation from a line in the 1965 Julie Andrews film The Sound of Music. "Always
let your conscience be your guide.” The song from the original Disney
Pinocchio movie.

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be."This saying
originates in the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet.
Polonius, the older counselor of Prince Hamlet's uncle, King Claudius, is in
the midst of dispensing advice to the prince when he speaks forth the famous
line: "This above all things: to
thine own self be true" (Hamlet, 3.1.81). Among his platitudes, he
also says, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" (3.1.78) — another
saying occasionally mistaken for Scripture.

“It is good for a man not touch with a woman.”1 Corinthians 7:1

2. Context:

Before: 6.13
“The food’s for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy
them both.”No—

15Your body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit and will be resurrected.

‎‎16 Or
do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For
“the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”‎‎17 But he who is joined to the Lord is
one spirit with Him.

18Flee sexual
immorality.

3. Next Statement to evaluate:

“It is good for a man not touch (have sexual relations)
with a woman.”

This goes to the opposite extreme of chapter 6.Can you imagine the tensions between the
chapter six hedonistic group and the chapter seven ascetic group?Some might have been wondering who was right.

After:How does salvation do to our stations and
situations in life?“Let each one remain
in that situation in life in which he was called” (7.20 net[1])

TS: Paul is going to answer the fallacy of
this statement and show some ways…

Big Idea:Our relationships should be used to promote
holiness and the Gospel.

I. Concerning the things you wrote (1-6)

A. The Corinthian
Statement (1)

Now
concerning the things of which you wrote to me:

“It is good for a man not to touch a woman.”

Touch:

One view: Paul
is saying that being single is a good thing. (comp. w/ 1 Tim. 4:3 giving heed
doctrines of demons, forbidding to marry, and
commanding to abstain from foods ...[2])

Prefered view: This is a Corinthian saying that was an overreaction
to the problem of sexual immorality.

“Two reasons stand out for thinking that here Paul quotes
a Corinthian slogan, as he did in 1:12; 6:12a, 13a–c, 18b:

he will command
sexual intercourse within marriage (7:2–5), so that the statement, “[It’s] good
for a man not to touch a woman,” hardly represents his own judgment.

Paul will carefully balance his statements between male
and female in 7:2–5, 10–16, 33–34, so that the lack of such a balance in the
foregoing statement (“[It’s] good for a man
…”) points to a Corinthian slogan.” [3]

2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman
have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affectiondue her, and likewise also the wife
to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own
body, but the wife does.

5 Do not deprive
one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to
prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment.

1. Each has the other (2)

2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman
have her own husband.

sexual
immorality“…a
term for all kinds of sexual immorality, often in the case of men’s having sex
with prostitutes…”[5]

A sin to be avoided.A reason Jesus
died on the cross.

It was not
a determined total abstinence, but a God designed marriage that helped guard
against sin.

A loving
marriage relationship one of the things that help maintain holiness in our
personal lives.

2) Each fulfill their duty (3) 3 Let the
husband render to his wife the affectiondue her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.

G3782 - o-fā-lā': that which is owed; metaph.
dues: specifically of conjugal duty

Notice the
mutuality and equality in the way this verse is worded.

“His verb
is the present imperative, which [The original language] indicates the habitual
duty.

It is
significant that he stresses the importance of giving rather than getting.
Marriage is the giving of oneself to another.”[6]

3) Each does not have authority(4)4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own
body, but the wife does.

It is
important to note the tone of 1) giving rather than taking and 2) the mutuality
and equality.

“Most [1st century] non-Christian
husbands would have been horrified at the notion that their bodies belonged to
their wives.” --Craig Blomberg in NIV
Application Commentary

4) Concession to the
general rule (5-6) 5 Do not deprive
one another except with consent for
a time, that you may give yourselves to prayer; and come together again
so that Satan does not tempt you
because of your lack of self-control. 6 But
I say this as a concession, not as a
commandment.

7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each
one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.8 But I say to the unmarried
and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but
if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry
than to burn with passion.

1. “Paul is single, and he likes it that way.”--Craig Blomberg in NIV Application Commentary

2. It is good to be single.(In 7:32-40 Paul will give explain benefits
of being single, so we don’t need to consider them here.)

3. Being single is not for everybody.It is fine to want to get married.

Burn--“With passion” is added
by most translators to give their understanding of the sense.It is not in the Greek, but fits the sense of
the passage well.But the verb could be
understood of burning in Gehenna (Bruce)[9] (cf. 6:9–10)

“It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18)
is generally true for most people; but some have been called to a life of
singleness for one reason or another. Their singleness is not “subspiritual” or
“superspiritual.” It all depends on the will of God.[10]

APPLICATION:

Singles, you should use the advantages of being single
for Gospel work.

(A little more than 1/3 of the adults at TBCare single. (not including minor
children) )

We need to respect and intentionally include singles.Being single is
an honorable situation with some real advantages.

TS:

Given the positive aspects of being single and

In light of what Paul said in 6:16 about becoming one
flesh with an unbeliever

some may wonder if they should stay married.

What does Paul say to the married?

III. Paul’s Command for Those Married (10-16)

A. Those
Married to believers (10-11)

READ 10-11

10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the
Lord:

A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But
even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her
husband.

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying
to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife for just any reason?"

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at
the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ethe two shall become one
flesh’?6So
then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined
together, let not man separate.”

7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to
give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce
your hwives,
but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife,
except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and
whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of
the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”[12]

Paul does not mention the exception Jesus allowed on the
grounds of fornication (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). But he is not writing a systematic treatise on
divorce. He is answering specific questions.[13]

But if she does
envisages the possibility that she will disobey the injunction. Or, as
Conzelmann thinks, the [Greek verb tense] aorist may refer to an already
existing situation. [14]

We are to seek reconciliation whenever we are able.

2
Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled
us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the
word of reconciliation.

(APPLICATION) “Divorce” is a word Christian couples should not say to
each other.

“Therefore what God
has joined together, let not man separate.” Matthew
19:6

“We are prone to think that a change in circumstances is
always the answer to a problem. But the problem is usually within us and not around
us. The heart of every problem is the problem in the heart. I have watched
couples go through divorce and seek happiness in new circumstances, only to
discover that they carried their problems with them. A Christian lawyer once
told me, ‘About the only people who profit from divorces are the attorneys!’ ”[15]

B. Those
Married to Unbelievers (12-16)

READ 14-16

14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the
wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise kyour
children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if
the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under
bondage in such cases. But God has called us lto peace. 16 For
how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you
know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

1. If
the unbelieving spouse willing to stay married, STAY MARRIED (12-13)

12 But to the rest
I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she
is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a
woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with
her, let her not divorce him.

It is an act of
disobedience for a Christian knowingly to marry an unsaved person (note “only in the Lord” in 1 Cor. 7:39; 2 Cor. 6:14). But if a person becomes a Christian
after marriage, he should not use that as an excuse to break up the marriage
just to avoid problems. [17]

“There is a great
deal of difference between entering into a marriage with an unbeliever—and
staying in a marriage where one’s mate is an unbeliever. Paul’s teaching
elsewhere speaks to those who have not yet entered into an unequal yoke.” 82--Bob Deffingbaugh in True Spirituality: A Study in 1
Corinthians

2. If
the unbelieving spouse leaves, let them. (15)

“…the tension
introduced by one partner in a marriage suddenly having a new allegiance to
Christ at times proved intolerable to the non-Christian partner.” --Craig
Blomberg in NIV Application Commentary

Not under bondageδουλόομαι: (a figurative extension of meaning of δουλόωa ‘to
enslave,’ 87.82) to be firmly bound by an obligation or a relationship[18]

The freedom from the marriage would naturally include
freedom to remarry like in 7:40 A wife is bound* to her husband as long as
he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she
wishes, only in the Lord.

*δέω G1210-deō: to
bind tie, fasten

Called us to peace -- But God has called us in peace (net)

“Perfect active indicative of καλεω [kaleō], permanent call in
the sphere or atmosphere of peace. [19]

3. Reasons
to stay with an unsaved spouse (14, 16)

a. To
sanctify the family

unbelieving husband is sanctified

children holy
vs. unclean

The concern about the affect of being one with an
unbeliever is probably the concern being answered here.

“The two have become on flesh and the wonder it that in such a
case it is not the taint of heathenism but the grace of Christianity which wins
the victory.”--William
Barclay

“Just what does Paul mean by the term “sanctification”?
This is a matter of considerable discussion. It is generally agreed that Paul
is not teaching that the unsaved partner is somehow saved by the faith of the
other. Some go to considerable lengths to find scriptural grounds for infant
baptism,84 a most difficult feat. Paul seems to
desire to communicate in general terms that there are spiritual benefits for
the one who chooses to remain married to a believing partner, even though this
person is unsaved.

The term “sanctify” is often used in a general way, not
referring to salvation. In I Timothy 4:5, Paul
teaches that foods once prohibited (and still forbidden by some) are
“sanctified” by means of the Word of God and prayer (cf. also Acts 10:9-16). In the Old
Testament, contact with the “holy” altar rendered the things which touched it
holy…”--Bob Deffingbaugh in

1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands,
that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by
the conduct of their wives, 2 when they observe your chaste
conduct accompanied by fear.

7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with
understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being
heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion
for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9
not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary
blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a
blessing.

APPLICATION:

Evangelism begins at
home with our lives and words.

TS:It is not too far of a stretch for us to also
think about those in our extended families and other relationships can be
reached with the Gospel.

Big Idea:Our relationships should be used to promote
holiness and the Gospel.

CONCLUSION:

We have touched on a topic tonight that hits to the core
of our closest relationships.For many
of us broken and dysfunctional marriages and homes have brought much pain,
heartache, and regret.

God offers forgiveness and healing.

We believers, as the arms and hands of Christ, should reach out to those who are broken and hurting
with grace and kindness.

Marriage and singleness are areas where we have profound
opportunities to promote holiness and the Gospel.

Make God grant us the wisdom and grace to make the most
of those opportunities.

“The divorce rate peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s and
has been declining for the three decades since.About 70 percent of marriages that began in the 1990s reached their 15th
anniversary (excluding those in which a spouse died), up from about 65 percent
of those that began in the 1970s and 1980s. Those who married in the 2000s are
so far divorcing at even lower rates. If current trends continue, nearly two-thirds
of marriages will never involve a divorce, according to data from Justin
Wolfers, a University of Michigan economist (who also contributes to The
Upshot).”–Claire Cain Miller,
"The Divorce Surge Is Over, but the Myth Lives On", The Upshot / New York Times, DEC. 2,
2014,

About Me

I am a follower of Christ, husband, father to three, and an associate pastor at a Tulsa Bible Church. It continues to amaze me that God has seen fit to undertake the process of molding me into the image of His son and find ways to use me in His service. I am blessed.